If you play poker on a regular basis, or you are planning on playing on a regular basis you must be able to properly manage your money.  It doesn’t matter if you play high stakes, low stakes, ring games or tournament games.  No matter what your style is you must be able to manage your money.  The way you manage your money is going to depend on you, but there are many helpful tips to managing your poker money.

Step 1:
The first step to money management is to figure out your goals.  Ask yourself why you play poker, what you are trying to achieve, and how much money you want to make.  Do you want to play for a living, for a second income, or just for fun?

Step 2:
The next thing you will want to do is figure out how you are planning on achieving these goals.  You will need to figure out what stakes are best for you to play in and how you are going to come up with the money for your bank roll.  Once you achieve this you will be ready to go.

Step 3:
Now that you have your goals and how you will achieve them you can put your self research into action.  If you are going to be successful you must be discipline.  That is the number one thing about money management.  If you are not discipline you will not get where you want to be.  Come up with a plan for yourself to manage your money, if you would like you can use the steps that we use here.

Step 4:
Get a bank account that is strictly for your poker.  Depending on your goals, you will need to treat your poker money like it is part of your income. 

Step 5:
Put your entire bank roll into your poker bank account.  You should never let your account balance be anything under your desired bank roll amount.  If you have the goal to increase your limits that you play at, you should be increasing your bank roll.

Step 6:
Divide all incoming poker money into different percentages.  You should come up with a percentage that always goes into your poker bank account and then a percentage that goes into your personal bank account. 

Example:
If you play with $1000.00 one night, and then you leave with $2000.00 you have a net profit of $1000.00.  The $1000.00 you started with should automatically go right back into your poker bank account.  On top of that you should put 20% of your profit into your poker account, then 30% into your savings, then the rest (50%) into your personal account.

Step 7:
Keep detailed records.  Tracking your poker records is another big topic in itself.  Just speaking about the money itself, you should track everything about your money.  You should keep track of how much you make each day, how much you lose, what you deposit and what you withdrawal.

Step 8:
Come up with a consistent game plan, and stick within your set limits.  You should only bring a certain amount each time you play poker, and you should use that to figure out how you are doing with your money.  That way you do not lose track of what you are losing and what you are winning.  If you always start with the same amount then it will be easy to see your results when you walk out.

Step 9:
Once you get going adjust your limits, and percentages.  Depending on your goals (that will more then likely change over time), you will have to adjust your money management plan.

Step 10:
Stay discipline.  Never quit thinking about money management.  It is the most important part of a long term poker career.

Play Online Poker